by Kim Kay
All good things must come to an end, as the old adage goes, but that’s clearly not the case when those things are of the Internet of Things variety and when they involve Arxan, an application attack-prevention specialist at the top of its game.
The trusted application protection purveyor’s Application Protection Solution handily collected multiple honors in the inaugural 2016 IoT Innovator Awards, including Best IoT Security Software, Best IoT Connected Medical Devices Software, Best IoT Connected Automobiles Software and Best IoT Website and Content. The scope of the IoT Innovator awards Arxan amassed not only demonstrates the company’s range but also its distinctive leadership and product offerings.
The IoT Innovator Awards honor the best of Internet of Things businesses and individuals across the globe by highlighting and celebrating the year’s top products, projects, companies and ideas that form the IoT landscape. Needless to say, Arxan has proven itself to be a valuable
part of that backdrop.
It’s clear that Arxan embraces the idea that, as the Internet of Things market gains speed and causes disruptions at a dizzying rate, an increasing number of people are taking advantage of this forward movement by relying on connected medical devices and connected automobiles for their personal safety and ultimately, their lives. With such a heavy market reliance on connected devices, it goes without saying that a comprehensive security solution is crucial, since breaches can end in catastrophic results.
Software sweep
It’s worth noting that Arxan won three awards in the IoT Innovator Awards’ software categories alone, including Best IoT Security Software, Best IoT Connected Medical Devices Software and Best IoT Connected Automobiles Software. And for good reason: The company’s patented multi-layered guarding technology – which safeguards connected medical devices, connected automobiles and numerous other apps in non-secure mobile and IoT environments – effectively detects and deters attempted attacks.
In the case of connected medical devices, specifically, Arxan’s technology can save lives – quite literally. For example, because Arxan is able to equip its customers with the ability to stop hackers from tampering with pacemakers and insulin pumps, the company allows those consumers to feel confident about their product offerings while remaining compliant with FDA and other regulations.
Peeling back the layers
A closer look under the hood reveals that Arxan’s application protection solution shields an application’s binary code and cryptographic keys by tamper-proofing code and detecting attacks at runtime. Voila: Application defended. Essentially, because the code protection solution is embedded at the application level, it automatically guards against tampering and hacking acts.
Also, by introducing its solution directly into the application binary, Arxan’s solution is seamlessly integrated into the build process (without requiring any changes to the source code). What’s more, not only does the solution prevent copying, modifying and unauthorized access to applications but it also blocks malicious code insertion as well as monitors mobile apps running in unsafe environments via protection configuration insertion.
In fact, once the guards are injected, the product will function effectively and customers can easily change their configuration parameters so that the solution is adjusted to their specific requirements.
It makes sense, really: Attacks that occur at the mobile application layer are on the rise and binary code remains the weakest, most insecure link. One only has to look to the hordes of hackers who have managed to reverse-engineer binary code in order to access source code (and, in turn, intellectual property). Never fear though: Arxan’s solution is able to secure company brands, data, customer experiences and business integrity.
Deployment made easy
As if that wasn’t enough peace of mind, it didn’t escape our judges’ attention that once new customers deploy Arxan’s Application Protection Solution, the company’s TurboStart – a free service that ensures proper, easy and fast deployment of the technology – kicks in. Basically, TurboStart bundles together product and protection design training in order to arm customers’ infosec and development teams with the know-how to confidently run the Arxan solution. Additionally, after deployment, Arxan provides ongoing support via its Professional Services Team.
That Professional Services Team is comprised of a small army of experienced protection engineers, security experts, software analysts and computer scientists – all of whom possess extensive experience in building software protection; discovering system/software/application vulnerabilities; reverse engineering; network security; cryptography; verification tools and techniques; and secure protocols.
The team provides a range of services designed to support customers – including end-to-end application integrity protection support during initial implementation, release updates and other customized requirements – which yield a sizable competitive advantage for consumers by reducing total cost of ownership and streamlining security for mobile and IoT apps.
Arxan’s latest release also includes new and enhanced support for Swift, Apple’s programming language used in MacOS, iOS and tvOS and Android N, to ensure customers are protected when using the newest technologies and operating with the latest programming languages.
Connecting the dots: Connected cars and connected medical devices are just the start
It’s not just the connected automobile and connected medical device spaces in which Arxan has found itself playing and growing. In fact, Arxan has experienced a nearly 50 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past few years and is currently protecting applications on more than 500 million devices for customers around the world and across various vertical industries such as manufacturing, gaming, digital media, financial services and high tech/Independent Software Vendors (ISVs).
Content is king
Arxan also nabbed an IoT Innovator Best Website and Content award win, thanks to a top-notch and resource-rich site platform. The company recently overhauled its website to enhance its functionality as a resource hub for its customers, partners and the larger industry. Easily navigable resources on the site include whitepapers, e-books, videos and more. We think the new look and intuitiveness of Arxan’s site reinforces its position as a leading player in the IoT and mobile attack prevention space.
In the end, it’s imperative that a security solution be just as robust as the advanced and pervasive threats it is trying to help mitigate. Arxan’s Application Protection Solution is just that hearty. Clearly, all good things must continue.
Kim Kay is the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher of IoT Innovator. She can be reached at kim_kay@IoTInnovator.com.
